Seeing the attire of these six individuals, Park Dehwan abandoned all thoughts of escape and reversed his dagger, plunging it towards his own heart.
Clad in flying fish robes and carrying a Xiu Chun saber, these were the legendary Jin Yi Wei, capable of making one wish for death rather than life!
The martial world's whispers claimed that once targeted by the Jin Yi Wei, the most merciful death was to commit suicide before falling into their hands. Never entertain any glimmer of hope.
However, with a bang, a gunshot struck Park Dehwan's right hand, the one holding the dagger. Immediately after, three more shots rang out, hitting Park Dehwan's left hand and both thighs.
Following this, Park Dehwan was bound tightly.
Upon arrival at the Ayong County prison, the leading Jin Yi Wei officer did not interrogate Park Dehwan. Instead, he first sought a hammer and proceeded to smash each of the five fingers on Park Dehwan's right hand before smiling and asking, "Confess? Or not confess?"
The pain made the veins on Park Dehwan's forehead bulge, and cold sweat streamed down his face like a waterfall. He could only emit muffled groans, not a single word of confession.
"Bang!"
After smashing Park Dehwan's palm with another hammer blow, the Jin Yi Wei officer said with admiration, "They say the fingers are connected to the heart. I've shattered five of your fingers, and you can still endure without confessing. I admire you! To show my respect, I'm going to let you have a good taste of our Jin Yi Wei's methods."
The accompanying Jin Yi Wei guards couldn't help but grumble, "Boss, if you want him to confess, shouldn't you pull out that dirty sock from his mouth first? If his mouth is gagged, how can he confess?"
Only then did the Jin Yi Wei officer exclaim, "Ah," reaching out and yanking the dirty sock from Park Dehwan's mouth, cursing, "Who stuffed this in? Such a foul sock, were you planning to stink him to death?"
As he spoke, the Jin Yi Wei officer casually swung the hammer towards Park Dehwan's shoulder blade, "Confess? Or not confess?"
Park Dehwan let out a scream of agony. First, he felt a warmth in his crotch, and then, gasping for breath, he cried, "I'll confess! I'll confess! I'll tell you everything!"
The Jin Yi Wei officer felt a hint of disdain.
He's confessing already? This is just the beginning!
Pursing his lips, the Jin Yi Wei officer glanced at the Jin Yi Wei guards behind him, then turned back to ask, "Speak, who is your handler, and who are your subordinates? How do you contact them? If even one detail differs from what I know, I'll shatter another bone!"
It turned out that there were no true tough guys among the Koreans. Merely shattering a few fingers, a palm, and a shoulder blade was enough for Park Dehwan to eagerly confess everything, just wishing for a swift death afterward. xxs壹贰
After obtaining the desired confession, the Jin Yi Wei officer instructed a Jin Yi Wei guard, "Send him to Ayong County. Tell Ayong County that if they wish to add any names, they should report them first so we can prepare evidence for them."
The Ayong County Magistrate was not as unrestrained as the Jin Yi Wei. However, while the Jin Yi Wei's punishment was merely the destruction of the body, the Ayong County Magistrate intended to destroy the spirit.
Park Dehwan, now useless to the Jin Yi Wei, was handed over to the Ayong County Magistrate. After being placed in a prisoner's cart, he was paraded through streets and alleys, and then publicly tried in various villages. He was forced to repeatedly confess his collusion with Korean citizens and his involvement in poisoning. It had to be admitted that destroying the spirit was far more ruthless than merely destroying the body.
After touring all the villages in Ayong, Park Dehwan had become quite unhinged. The mere sound of a clapper striking wood, or chains and rulers, would send him into a terrified state, urinating himself and shouting, "I confess! I confess! I'll tell you everything!"
This development completely unsettled Li San and the Korean court.
With Park Dehwan's capture, the spies dispatched by the small court of Li San were also apprehended one after another. The Ming government's handling of these spies was largely similar, generally aiming at both the destruction of the body and the spirit.
For Li San, losing a few spies was not a major issue. However, the Korean populace began to suspect the Sam Byeol Cho righteous army, and some even reported to the Ming authorities. This was something Li San could not possibly accept.
After much deliberation and consultation with the Korean small court's Minister of Personnel, Park Jun Yuan, Chief State Councillor Kim Sang Cheol, and Commander of Training Ku Seon Fu, along with his son Ku Yi Cheom, Li San finally resolved to openly raise the banner of rebellion, seeking to make Korea a vassal state once again.
To assert his legitimacy, Li San even issued a proclamation against Ming, claiming that Korea had served the Ming like a father for over two hundred years. Even after the Ming dynasty fell, Korea continued to pay homage to Emperor Chongzhen at all seasons without fail. However, Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, disregarding Korea's filial loyalty and sincerity, and ignoring the ancestral instruction of the First Emperor of Ming, which designated Joseon as a country not to be conquered, must have been influenced by treacherous officials whispering slander in his ear. Therefore, Li San had no choice but to take up arms for rectification, hoping for support from across the land to remove the corrupt elements around the emperor and restore proper governance.
It must be admitted that the proclamation written by Li San was quite convincing, successfully deceiving some of the less steadfast Koreans. For a time, followers flocked to his cause.
What further excited these Koreans was that the Ming army, which had previously treated Joseon like a dog and should have been terrifying, even invincible in their eyes, suddenly retreated when faced with Li San's rebellion. They merely defended a few cities and showed no intention of engaging Li San's forces.
The Ming army's performance gave the Koreans greater confidence, leading to more and more defecting to Li San.
Faced with this situation, Li San, who had been considering fleeing into the deep mountains to avoid the Ming army's encirclement, was bewildered.
What was happening?
Could it be that the Ming army was also displeased?
In response, Li San immediately intensified his efforts. He sent people to spread the word that Korea belonged to the Koreans, and simultaneously propagated rumors that the Ming army's morale was low and they would soon be driven out of Korea. As the King of Joseon, Li San called upon all Koreans to join him in removing the corrupt officials.
In this context, the Koreans were immediately divided into two factions.
Some Koreans decided to follow Li San in removing the corrupt officials, while another group of more steadfast Korean citizens, who wished to remain subjects of the Ming Dynasty, under the leadership of Li, rushed towards the riverbanks with their families.
Li once again echoed the words of his ancestor, Yi Seong Gye (Li Cheng Gui): "Better to die in our parents' country than at the hands of rebels!"
In essence, he was saying, "Li San may be stronger than me, but I, Li, can lead the loyal subjects of the Ming Dynasty to flee directly to the riverbanks. Even if we die on the road, or at the hands of our Ming father, we will not die at the hands of Li San!" This, in turn, made things easier for the Ming court. Those Koreans who followed Li San in rebellion either died on the battlefield or perished in mines and construction sites, with virtually no other path available to them.
Then, the army stationed in Joseon Province by the Left Military Governor's Office began to mobilize.
The Ming army's combat mode was relatively simple: artillery spoke first, followed by a barrage of Shen Ji arrows, then a carpet bombing of hand grenades, and finally, infantry sweeping the battlefield.
This straightforward, even technologically unsophisticated, combat mode had once beaten the Qing army like dogs, annihilated the Annamite rebels, and turned two thousand Portuguese soldiers into a pyramid of skulls.
Before Li San could even react, he discovered that his army was collapsing like a mountain. His troops were either dead on the battlefield or scattered to the winds, their whereabouts unknown.
Upon regaining his senses, Li San's first reaction was to flee into the deep mountains: "Now that the Ming army is powerful and the war is unfavorable to Korea, I suggest we temporarily retreat into the mountains and use our familiarity with the terrain and other advantages to slowly engage the Ming army."
However, Kim Sang Cheol, the Chief State Councillor of Li San's small court, offered a different opinion: "Your Majesty, surrender. After fighting to this point, there is no longer any need to continue."
Commander of Training Ku Seon Fu shared Kim Sang Cheol's sentiment: "Your Majesty, even if we hide in the deep mountains, we may not be safe. Rather than prolonging this, it would be better to surrender as soon as possible and beg for the forgiveness of His Majesty, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
Fortunately, Li San's father-in-law, Park Jun Yuan, showed some concern for Li San: "Surrender to the Ming? Once we surrender to the Ming, how could the Ming Emperor let Your Majesty off the hook? You all disregard Your Majesty's safety for your own selfish reasons, truly deserving of death!"
After reprimanding Kim Sang Cheol and Ku Seon Fu, Park Jun Yuan then asked Li San for instructions: "Your subject requests to execute anyone who speaks of surrender!"
With the support of his father-in-law, Li San also strengthened his resolve: "Anyone who dares to speak of surrender again will be executed!"
Faced with Li San and Park Jun Yuan, who were determined to hide in the deep mountains, Kim Sang Cheol and Ku Seon Fu were utterly despairing.
Park Jun Yuan, being Li San's father-in-law, was bound by the same fate, sharing glory and ruin together. Naturally, he would side with Li San.
Furthermore, Li San, the King of Joseon, was a cowardly individual who feared death so much that he would drag the remaining Koreans to their deaths with him.
Helpless, Kim Sang Cheol and Ku Seon Fu could only agree to Li San's proposal and retreat into the deep mountains with him.
It must be admitted that Li San's idea of hiding in the deep mountains was correct in the short term, as the Ming army stationed in Joseon was not adept at mountain warfare, and the troops familiar with mountain warfare were under the jurisdiction of the Front Military Governor's Office and the Right Military Governor's Office, and could not be mobilized quickly.
Of course, this problem did not pose any obstacle to Liu Er Niu, who was in charge of the Left Military Governor's Office.
It didn't matter that the Left Military Governor's Office's army was not skilled in mountain warfare; the Rear Military Governor's Office had an army that was very adept at mountain warfare.
Liu Er Niu, for the price of a bottle of wine, borrowed a unit of Solon Camp soldiers from the Rear Military Governor's Office to cooperate in encircling and suppressing the Koreans hiding in the mountains.
This time, Li San was truly finished!
Since Wan Yan Agu Na of the Solon tribe was enfeoffed as a noble consort, and the Ming sent people to the Solon tribe to guide them in agriculture and animal husbandry, the Solon tribe's living conditions gradually improved, and they slowly began to lean towards the Ming.
However, what the Solon tribe was somewhat dissatisfied with was that although the Ming treated them the same as the Han Chinese, they had never independently conscripted Solon soldiers for war. Apart from normal enlistment, the Solon tribe had only a three-thousand-strong cavalry responsible for guarding the imperial palace. Although the Solon tribe still had the organizational structure of the Solon Camp, they had few opportunities to fight on the battlefield.
Now that the Ming had independently conscripted the Solon Camp, the Solon tribe, long憋着一股气 (suppressed with a breath of resentment) and eager to display their bravery and loyalty to the Ming Emperor, was overjoyed.
With the principle that "when the Solon Camp goes on campaign, even stray dogs will get a couple of slaps," these Solon killing machines headed straight for Li San's hiding place as soon as they arrived in Joseon.
According to Wan Yan Agutai, the commander of the Solon tribe, when it came to mountain warfare, if the Solon tribe didn't beat the shit out of the Koreans, then he, the Korean, had defecated cleanly!
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